Cop winding machine



June 15, 1954 H. L. MUscHAMP ET A1. 2,681,183

COP WINDING MACHINE Filed Deo. 6, 1950 III 12]"Tf I Il Il L H HI H' 5 o ,J

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Patented June 15, 1954 COP WINDING MACHINE Harold Lionel Muschamp, ramhall, and John Robert Grady, Cheadle Holme, England; said Grady assigner to said Muschamp Application December 6, 1950, Serial No. 199,412

Claims priority, application Great Britain December 10, 1949 3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to cop winding machines.

In winding machines the yarn is laid onto a spool, bobbin or other suitable receiver by a yarn guide that is reciprocated between end limits over the surf-ace upon which the yarn Ais to be laid.

In certain winding operations, such as pirn winding, it is desirable that the yarn laid in each ytransverse movement of the guide should lie at varying distances from the axis of the winding head to enable it to be drawn olf from one end or the pirn. This is effected by moving the traversing yarn guide slowly parallel with the axis of the winding head, so that the portion of the piin body over which it traverses backwards and forwards slowly changes. in each Atraverse movement the guide moves from areas where a greater 'thickness of yarn has been l-aid to areas of lesser yarn thickness and vice versa, so that the layer of yarn laid adopts the shape of a truncated cone.

To effect this purpose the traversing yarn guide is commonly mounted on a carriage which is movable parallel `to the winding head, the movement of which may be governed `by a feeler adapted to contact the rapidly rotating yarn built up on the winding head so that as the yarn reaches a predetermined thickness it contacts the feeler and through such contact is effected the longitudinal movement of the carriage with its associated traversing yarn guide.

Many practical constructions have been pr posed making use of such contacting diameter feelers and it is to this type of construction that the present invention is particularly directed.

It will be appreciated that the contact between the yarn and the feeler must cause a certain amount of abrasion of the yarn and this is a matter of particular importance when dealing with fine rayon yarns.

It is an object of the present invention -to produce a carriage traverse mechanism in which the parts actually driven from the yarn are of low inertia and to provide a construction in which the total energy imparted from the yarn to the feeler mechanism is low, so that a very light contact between the yarn and the feeler will be eective to produce movement of the carriage.

According to Ithe present invention a yarn guide carriage traverse mechanism for a cop winding machine comprises a, carriage, freely slidable along a longitudinal guide or guides parallel with the winding head, a feeler member rotatably mounted in said carriage, said feeler member having a head portion adapted to be contacted by the rotating yarn and be rotated thereby, a reciprocating threaded member parallel with the winding head engaging a nut movable with respect to the carriage and adapted to contact it at one end of its stroke to move the carriage along the guide, the said nut being caused to travel along the threaded member by rotation of the feeler member.

The feeler member preferably carries a worm engaging with corresponding formations on the periphery of the nut. By providing interchangeable right and left hand worms it is possible to adapt ythe mechanism very quickly for the rightand left-hand winding.

It will readily be appreciated that the inertia of the ieeler mechanism and the work that has to be taken from the surface of 'the yarn is very low, since the total inertia that has to be overcome is only the inertia of the feeler member and the nut and it is only the energy to perform this par-t of the operation that has Ito be taken from the yarn, the actual movement of the heavy carriage being effected by the reciprocating power driven rack. Since the feeler member only has to rotate the nut it can be made of exceptionally light construction and therefore of very low inertia.

The feeler member is preferably made adjusta ble to be leffective at varying distances from the winding head and for this purpose the worm may be made longitudinally slidable on it, as by forming the feeler member shaft and the worm with corresponding square section formations. The distance at which the feeler head contacts the yarn may be automatically varied during each copwinding operation yto give the ends of the cop the correct formation by providing a guide of the desired contour which is followed by a member associated with the feelcr member -to move the same longitudinally so that the longitudinal path described by the feeler head is the same as the shape of the guide contour, which will thereby be imparted to the cop. Y

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood one form of yarn guide carriage traverse mechanism for a cop winding machine is hereinafter described with reference -to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the mechanism,

Figure 2 is a cross section on the line A-A of Figure 1,

vlligure 3 is a cross section on of Figure 2. Y

A cop winding machine includes a winding the line B-l-B head for a pirn core shown diagrammatically at I and a carriage 2 longitudinally slidable on guide rails 3 and l parallel with the winding axis. The carriage is adapted to support a suitable traversable yarn guide, which may be of any suitable construction and driven in any suitable manner. A yarn guide Sii is mounted on a pivot SI in projecting portion 5 of the carriage and is reciprocated by means conventional in the art.

The carriage Z is formed with a boss 6 on its edge nearer the winding head, which, with another boss I formed on the top of the carriage, forms a bearing for a carrier member 8 which is longitudinally movable therein. ln the carrier member is rotatably mounted a feeler member comprising a shaft 9 and a round disclike head l) adapted to contact the yarn of the cop. The other end of the feeler member shaft is provided with a squared portion adapted to receive a worm I I having a corresponding square section aperture formed therein.

A pair of bosses I2 on the outer side of the carriage serve as a mounting for a nut i3, formed with an internal thread which is both rotatably and longitudinally movable in said mounting. The nut I3 is formed with worm-wheel formations It on its periphery to enable it to be rotated by engagement with the worm il carried by the feeler member. It also has a peripheral collar I5 formed on its outer surface positioned between the two bosses which acts as an abutment to contact the forward boss. Through the nut passes a rack rod I6 formed with a corresponding thread which is provided with a suitable drive to give it a reciprocating movement which it can impart to the nut. The rack rod is flattened along one side, so that it may be moved laterally with respect to the nut to disengage the same and allow the carriage to be returned rapidly in known manner to its start point.

In operation, as the yarn forming the cop builds up during winding to a predetermined diameter, it will contact the rear edge of the feeler head til and cause it to rotate. This rotation is transmitted to the worm Il and through it to the nut it which is thus progressed a very small amount along the rack rod I5. The reciprocating movement of the rack carries the abutment collar I5 into contact with the forward boss i2 at the end of its forward stroke so that the carriage 2 is thereby pushed along its guide rails by an amount substantially equal to the amount of movement of the nut I3 along the rack rod it in the preceding cycle.

In this way the energy taken from the yarn by its contact with the feeler member is used only to control the movement of the carriage and is not required to effect such movement directly. Since the energy to be transmitted by the feeler mechanism is very small and the inertia of the nut IS is small, requiring only very small torque to be applied to the feeler shaft both this part and the feeler head It can be made very light.

It will be understood that the rack I6 is reciprccated by conventional means, that the yarn guide 32) is reciprocated in the usual manner by cam means not shown and that the relationship between the two reciprocating motions is such that the rack and the yarn guide do not reach their eiective extremities at the same instant. Thus, at the instant a thread is laid where it will Contact feeler It, the nut I3 is intermediate bosses I2 in a free floating condition. The yarn buildup rotates feeler Il, which in turn adjusts the position of nut I3 on rack l5 without engaging either of the bosses I2. The carriage then is nudged along by the next reciprocation of the rack, which will force nut I3 against the lower of the bosses I2 of Figure l. The amplitude of reciprocation of the rack IS is of course such that it is less than the free distance of movement of the nut I3 between the bosses l2 so that in normal operation the nut nudges the carriage forward only and only after each change of position of the nut I3 on the rack i6.

The control of the distance of the feeler head I from the winding spindle for control of the cop diameter is effected by means of a guide member Il, against which bears a follower I8 mounted in an upward projection of the boss 1. The follower member IB is connected by a clamp I9 to the feeler member carrier 8, so that as the follower I8 is moved along the guide contour it can impart a longitudinal movement to the carrier 8 and through it to the feeier head l@ when it contacts an angled guide portion 2Q out of parallel with the carriage guide. The follower I8 is loaded towards its guide by means of a compression spring 2| arranged about the feeler carrier between the clamp i9 and the boss What we claim is:

l. A yarn guide carriage traverse mechanism for a winding machine comprising carriage guide means parallel with the winding axis, a carriage longitudinally slidable on said guide means, a feeler member rotatably mounted in said carriage, a feeler head on said feeler member adapted to contact the yarn of a package being wound about the winding axis and to be rotated through such Contact, a threaded member ar ranged to reciprocate longitudinally, a nut engaging said threaded member, having a limited free longitudinal movement with respect to said carriage and adapted to contact a surface on said carriage at one end of its stroke and means associated with the feeler member for rotating said nut, whereby it is progressed along the threaded member to effect longitudinal movement of the carriage.

2. A yarn guide carriage traverse mechanism for a winding machine comprising carriage guide means parallel with the winding axis, a carriage longitudinally slidable on said guide means, a feeler member rotatably mounted in said carriage, a feeler head on said feeler member adapted to contact the yarn of a package being wound about the winding axis and. to be rotated through such contact, a threaded member arranged to reciprocate longitudinally, a nut engaging said threaded member, having a limited free longitudinal movement with respect to said carriage and adapted to contact a surface on said carriage at one end of its stroke, a worm rotatable with said feeler member and worm wheel formations on said nut engageable with said worm to eect progression of the nut along the threaded member and consequent longitudinal movement of the carriage.

3, A yarn guide carriage traverse mechanism for a winding machine comprising carriage guide means parallel to the winding axis, a carriage longitudinally slidable on said guide means, a feeler member rotatably mounted transversely of said carriage, a pair of bosses on said carriage, a nut rotatable and longitudinally movable in said bosses, an abutment collar on said nut worm wheel formations on said nut, a worm carried on the feeler member engaging said worm wheel formations, a feeler head on said feeler member adapted to be rotated through contact with the yarn of a package being Wound at the winding axis, a thread member arranged to engage said nut and to reciprocate longitudinally so that rotation of the feeler head is effective to cause longitudinal movement of the carriage through the impact of the nut abutment collar on its forward end supporting boss.

Name Date Harvey et al. Feb. 17, 1914 Number Number Number Name Date Rand Feb. 24, 1914 Joyce Dec. 30, 1924 Zeni Nov. 5, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Feb. 12, 1940 

